Ruse of the Lotus Warframe Short Story
by Avarcaness
Summary: War has shaken the Galaxy. The Tenno are fighting, not only for their survival; but the survival of others. Multiple threats face them. Who can they trust? Who is their ally, and who are their enemies? The key to survival lies in the murky depths of a dark ship, overrun by the horrifying mutants that are the victims of the Technocyte Plague. Lotus guided them. But it was it enough?


**Ruse of the Lotus:**

* * *

The blood red lights flickered eerily, bathing the dank corridor in their glow and briefly illuminating Loki's figure. At his feet lay disgusting piles of dead Infested, their bodies scabby and somewhat slimy, the remnants of their suits blood stained and torn. However, Loki had no regrets. There are casualties in any war; he knew that well enough.

He stepped over the bodies and continued on, past the damp splotches covering much of the ceiling and walls. True, the runners had been a little irritating, but of course it was nothing he couldn't handle. Kicking aside a few mangled chunks of bloody infested tissue, he walked to a bay door and inserted a hacking cipher into the panel. There was no time to hack it. He knew there were still Corpus on the ship, and they had probably called for a backup fleet by now. The Infestation had spread quickly, leaping from sector to sector despite their best attempts to contain it. It had even infected several Tenno operatives, leading to undesirable circumstances and multiple unfortunate incidences.

The bay door slid open with a smooth hissing sound, revealing a horrifying scene. A Corpus crewman was impaled through the chest with a jagged spike and pinned to the wall, his blood soaking his suit and settling in a pool under him. Numerous crimson splotches painted the walls, and there were more bodies piled on the floor. Swarms of Infested insectoids flocked around the room, occasionally landing on the mounds of bodies. A feeble groan escaped the crewman. He was apparently still alive.

"Help.. me... please.."

Loki obliged. The crewman was silenced, and Loki, after surveying the mess for a while, moved on.

Minutes later, he stood in front of an enormous door, engraved with intricate marking and grooves set deep within the titanium; definitely Corpus symbols. No doubt the gate was sealed, and likely soundproof as well. There was a single, glowing panel to the left of the colossal portal. On it were marked four fiery red words:

/CONTAMINATION DETECTED/

/ACCESS BLOCKED/

Loki silently mused. Most of the ship had already been taken, though he knew there was a group of Corpus somewhere in the vessel who were still living. He considered the odds. There could be a defense team waiting to obliterate anything that came out of that door. Then again, there could not be. And as this was the only way forward to his objective, he felt he had no choice in the matter. Loki inserted his hacking cipher into the panel. Thedoor opened with the gritty sound of metal grinding against metal, exposing the room inside.

* * *

Volt rolled aside as the Ancient lunged at him, narrowly missing him. It landed, its scratched metal armor grinding against the floor and shooting up sparks. Turning to face him, the monster disclosed it's horrible face, a mass of bloodied tissue and slimy bits of bone bending and sticking out at unnatural angles. It shrieked, sending chills down Volt's back, and lumbered towards him.

A hammer met its face, and the Ancient fell to the floor screeching. Volt sprinted towards it and finished it off with a quick thrust of his blade. He turned to face his savior. There stood Rhino's bulky figure, Fragor at his side, bloody and scratched. Volt spoke first.

"Thanks for that. Have you seen Mag?"

"She never replied to my transmission." Rhino's voice came out deep and gravelly.

"And Loki?"

"Before we split up, he told me... Lotus apparently sent him to do something. He said he'd be back soon."

"We should probably find Mag. We split up with her on Docking Bay Four, and we were supposed to meet her he-"

He never finished that sentence. An explosion shook the ship, sending Volt crashing to the ground and even managing to stumble Rhino. Mag rounded the corner of the hallway, shooting rapidly at something behind her that they couldn't see. But clearly, she wasn't alone.

* * *

Beneath the metal face of his helmet, Loki's eyes widened. There before him, supported on a huge series of crisscrossing metal beams and sheets, was the Lost Relic, the final puzzle piece in the mystery of the Technocyte plague. A huge titanium sphere, etched with deep lines and chasms, was suspended from the ceiling by dozens of wires and pulleys. The bottom of the sphere rested on the series of supports. It was so massive it took up almost half of the room, not including all of its supports and cables.

_The Tenno Capacitor._

Without warning, a pulse laser flew towards him, scorching a hole in a metal crate off to Loki's left. Reacting quickly, he dove behind a large metal sheet and got his bearings. A metallic sounding voice grunted something and several more lasers rebounded off the floor.

"Flush him out!"

A glowing blue energy grenade rolled under Loki's cover, settling to a stop about a foot away. Drawing his blade, he slashed the metal sheet and kicked it open. He slid through and rolled away as the grenade exploded, shaking the ship and sending shreds of metal and shrapnel flying through the air. Loki pulled his arms over his head and dove for the ground, shards of sharp metal ricocheting off of his shields. Getting to his feet and dodging a few more lasers, he pinned himself behind a pile of steel crates. Several fired at Loki from balconies, their glowing blue lasers illuminating the dark room with flashes of blue and purple.

Loki drew his rifle. There was nothing else for it, and the Corpus didn't like it. At least six of them fell before they heard it; a hollow, metallic sound reverberating across the room. It continued until-

BOOM!

All hell broke loose.

* * *

"Mag!" Volt shouted, voice echoing across the hallway.

Mag, rifle in hands, was sprinting as fast as she could towards him and Rhino.

"RUN!"

Rounding the corner came a massive horde of Infested- all of them screeching, clawing, and biting.

They didn't need to be told twice. As Mag caught up with them, they all turned and ran for their lives. Past crates, dead bodies and doorways they ran, not daring to slow. They were all exhausted and nearly out of breath. The trio rounded a corner and Volt yelled,

"About turn! Stand your ground!"

Volt cast an electrical shield over the hallway, bringing them perhaps a couple moments of safety. They could all see the horde clawing its way down the hall.

Mag, Volt, and Rhino simultaneously exchanged a glance. They would stand the onslaught no matter what happened.

They were warriors.

They were brethren.

They were the Tenno.

* * *

Infested poured into the room from all over. Air vents burst open, revealing row upon row of Infested. They crawled out of the ceiling, screeching and jumping towards the Corpus.

Loki was not left unnoticed. Several Infested were already hissing and spitting in his direction, daring him to fight. But he was not frightened. Training had prepared him for this. Across the room came flashes of light, products of the battle now raging between the endless waves of the Infested and the elite Corpus soldiers. But they wouldn't stand forever. More and more Infested were leaping out every moment.

As the first of the Infested reached him, Loki sprung into action. He lunged forward and punched one full in its mangled mouth, stumbling him. A diagonal slice with his blade, and the runner fell to pieces. Another slash brought down an Infested behind him. Reaching for his rifle, Loki kicked aside another and scrambled for cover.

Bursts of radiant green light flashed across the chamber as a huge Corpus warrior mech lumbered across the room, mowing down Infested with apparent ease. Occasionally a metal ball would be dispatched into the air, and it would morph into a Corpus Osprey that would hover around offering support to any Corpus allies in the vicinity.

Cables twisted and metal alloy plates creaked as an explosion churned the huge metal sphere suspended high above the battle. Crates caught fire and curling tendrils of fire snaked around the wires, scorching them and leaving dark burn marks smeared on the steel. Loki figured it couldn't stand much more strain. And if the core got damaged- well, things wouldn't be good.

* * *

The level of sound filling the hallway was astonishing. Bullets flew everywhere, rebounding off walls, pinging off metal, piercing flesh. Loud screeches filled the air as the Infested fell under the rain of bullets originating from the three united warriors standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder in the center of the hall.

Over the clamor, one shouted to the other two.

"We can't hold out forever! There are too many of them! We have to provide a diversion."

"I'll do it!" shouted the smaller of the three.

The largest stepped forward. "No, Mag. I have to do this. You two get going. I'll take care of the swarm."

Mag started to say something, but Rhino cut her off. "Don't worry about me. I'll meet up with you two later. Now get out of here!"

Without another word, Rhino walked forward, his eyes narrowed. Checking to make sure the others were out of harm's way, he turned to face the coming storm. Rhino readied himself with grim determination.

"Come on." He said. "Let's dance."

* * *

Side by side, they sprinted down the hallway, cautious of any lingering Infested along the way. When there was evidently no threat, they slowed down. Finally they stopped in front of a largish door.

Mag walked to the terminal and activated it. The door slid open, and together they walked in, guns at the ready. They met no resistance. Lowering their guns, they began to survey their surroundings. The room was bathed in a dim bluish light, but it was enough to illuminate row upon row of shelves, each one filled with Corpus intelligence files. The amount of data stored on those chips was enormous.

Volt switched on his transmission device. "Lotus, we need some assistance here."

Lotus's voice came through, buzzing faintly.

"This is the ship's data library. Your target is, I take it, well known to you both."

"Yes sir." They said in unison.

Lotus continued, "Excellent. Find the datamass, collect it, and get out of there. I fear we may be running out of time."

Volt looked quizzically at Mag, who shrugged. "What do you mean, sir?"

There was a brief silence before Lotus answered. "_The Capacitor_. It's been found."

* * *

Loki stumbled and almost lost his footing on the Capacitor as it churned beneath him. The room was in total chaos. Corpus soldiers yelled, Infested screamed, explosions shook the room, and lasers flew everywhere.

The Capacitor twisted again, and a titanium cable snapped with a strange reverberating sound. Loki slipped and grabbed hold of a groove in the side of the Capacitor to avoid being thrown off the edge.

As it stabled itself, Loki got back to his feet. He knew it wouldn't last for long, not with all the excitement of the raging battle. Slowly he started the ascent to the top,where he could slip open the top panel and find the core- the Capacitor itself.

Using a cable to pull himself up onto the top, Loki twisted his lips into a smile. The terminal to access the Capacitor was right there. Crouching down, he flipped a few switches and pressed the central button.

The machine flared to life. All along the sides, blue liquid plasma filled up the grooves and etched markings until the whole sphere was engraved with intricate designs and symbols.

The Capacitor started shifting, pieces of it moving into place and twisting to fit. Loki briefly thought of a gigantic puzzle that was building itself. All around him, the machine moved. Then it stopped.

The noises in the background seemed to falter. Everything became very still, like the calm before the storm. Slowly, out of the center, directly in front of Loki, a small shelf rose. Resting on a pedestal carved with astonishingly detailed ivory was the Lost Relic of the Tenno.

_The Capacitor Core._

* * *

Lotus saw through the eyes of the Tenno. In front of her sat an array of monitors, each depicting a different scene. But she was staring at one particular one. It was labeled _Loki._

Leaning back in her chair, she smiled wickedly and spoke to Loki.

"Warp the Relic to me."

And back came the reply, "Yes sir."

The Relic materialized in front of Lotus. She gazed at it, enthralled by it, and her expression turned hungry.

The lost Relic of the Tenno was finally in her possession.

* * *

Mag ran through the hall with the datamass in her hand, Volt right behind her. As they rounded the corner, Lotus spoke.

"Ignore your previous objective. Loki has achieved his goal. Now it's your time. Warp the datamass to me."

"Excuse me sir, but what about Loki and Rhino?"

"I said warp it to me. Do not make me repeat my orders."

"Yes sir."

The datamass disappeared, leaving Mag grasping thin air. Volt and Mag shared a glance. It was the last one they would share for a very, very long time.

* * *

Lotus laughed out loud. So much power, held in her palm. When connected, the datamass and the Capacitor contained more power than anybody could ever imagine. It was all hers. Blue light emanating from the Relic danced across her face and cast shadows skittering across the room.

She did not need the Tenno anymore. They were nothing now. The Orokin era was at an end. A new dawn was just beginning.

One by one, every remaining Tenno in the galaxy shut down.

Rhino froze, his hammer hoisted above his head, ready to strike. Mag and Volt stopped dead where they were. Loki fell to his knees in the midst of battle.

Elsewhere, the Warframes were depleted of their power, their users placed in a deep cryosleep.

Lotus curled her lips into a smile. The Tenno may have been deactivated, but she knew that one day she would call upon her puppets again.

One day, the Tenno would reawaken. And she would be there when they did.

* * *

Note: Sorry if there are any formatting errors; I copied and pasted this from the Warframe forums. But don't worry, the story is mine, I coped it from my profile.


End file.
